Super Quick Cauliflower / Gobi Biryani Recipe

Yes, I totally made this recipe up. There’s no such thing as a Cauliflower Biriyani. No, you are right, cauliflower does get added on to vegetable biriyani occasionally there’s no biriyani that’s exclusively dedicated to cauliflower.

I am also going to say this up front before you read through the whole recipe and get disappointed. You need Biryani Masala to make this recipe. Its not one of those grind-your-spices-fresh type of recipe because that would make this a non super quick dish, and today we are all about super quick.

Its also a prerequisite to like cauliflower inorder to enjoy this dish.

1. Cook the basmati rice in 5 cups of boiling, slightly salted water until cooked but still firm. Set aside.

2. Heat the ghee in a pan and add the onion-green chilly paste. You can also slice the onions and chillies and add it that way but I felt like grinding it so I did. Fry the onion paste for about 2 mins. It will start losing moisture and get thicker.

3. At this stage, add all the masala ingredients in the order given. Fry well for about a minute till it starts smelling gooood.

4. Add the tomato puree, peas and cut cauliflower florets. Give it a good mix and cook closed on low fire until the cauliflower is cooked soft, yet retains its shape (about 5-7 mins). You can sprinkle some water if you feel the mixture is getting too dry.

5. Once done, check salt and then mix in the cooked rice gently until well combined. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with any raita and papad.

The preparation time for this biriyani is significantly less because you are not pounding any masala last minute. Depending on what biriyani masala you use, you will get a distinct flavour each time – I love that variety!

What a delicious recipe! And I love your presentation too.I followed you from the foodieblogroll and I'd love to guide Foodista readers to your site. I hope you could add this cauliflower widget at the end of this post so we could add you in our list of food bloggers who blogged about recipes with cauliflower,Thanks!

This sounds very good. I have Sunetra Humbad's cookbook (Indian Vegetarian Cooking In Your House) & whenever she adds a paste to the oil, she says to cook until the spices begin to separate from the oil. As a non-Indian cook, I like the visual aid in knowing when to move on to the next step.

Let me guess – the bucket from ur Delhi trip? Looks gorgeous – both outside and inside. I make a Cauliflower pulav close to this but without the tomato puree. I have 2 big cauliflowers in my fridge and I might just be making this for dinner today!